This Week's in the News

Taking into account the news cycles of major newspapers,blogs an new channels; a lot of "news" that makes the news all has to do with who the people are and are not. In this week's news:

1.  Ryan Moats, the running back for the Houston Texans.  His story would have
never made the news cycle had he been a regular "Joe Blow.". Instead, because
he's an NFL athlete, the bad decision made by the officer to detain him made
national news.  I know this happens everyday in America. Police officers using
discrepancy in making decisions and depending upon the person/people, they make
poor decisions.  Happens all the time.  I guarantee it.

2.  A man loosing everything he has for dog fighting.  I'm not defending Michael
Vick at all but I guarantee had he been a regular "Joe Blow," he would have
received a slap on the wrist fine and sent on his way.  But because he "was" a star
athlete, he has been degraded to the lowest level society can make him, a
convict making $.12 an hour as a janitor. Broke, busted and disgusted.

3.  Madonna attempting to adopt another child from Africa.  If Madonna were not
a famous white woman, their would be no say in her adopting a black child from a
country that has 2 million orphans.  I do wonder why she wants to adopt black
kids and from Africa. You have black kids right here in America in every major
city that is poor and could benefit from a descent family and home. Why go all the way
to Africa?

This needs to be in the news but did not get in on the cycle/spin:

1.  Kathleen Sebelius should have been in the news. Once again, those that are
elected to enforce the laws and the constitution are the people who think the
laws do not pertain to them.  Why is it not a big deal that all these government
officials have not or do not pay their taxes.

With the country being in a financial downward spiral, I think if we investigate
Congress, the House, Governors and other elected officials, we just might get
enough money to lower our national deficit. But that's only if we can get it to
make the news cycle. 

Kathleen Sebelius Pays Back Taxes, more trouble for the Obama Administration?

Yet another Obama Administration nominee is under scrutiny for income tax inconsistencies. We recently told you about Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius' in the article, Kansas Governor Signs Bill on Offering Ultrasounds Before Abortion.

Now Sebelius has admitted to paying over $7,000 in back taxes in what she characterizes as "unintentional errors:"

In her letter to Baucus and Grassley, Sebelius wrote that the accountant discovered these errors:

--Charitable contributions over $250 are supposed to include an acknowledgment letter from the charity in order for a deduction to be taken. Out of 49 charitable contributions made, three letters couldn't be found.

--Sebelius and her husband took deductions for mortgage interest that they weren't entitled to. The couple sold their home in 2006 for less than what they owed on the mortgage. They continued to make payments on the mortgage, including interest. But since they no longer owned the home they weren't entitled to take deductions for the interest. The same thing happened with a home improvement loan. Sebelius said they ''mistakenly believed'' the payments were still deductible.

--Insufficient documentation was found for some business expense deductions. Source: New York Times

At this point, I would like to see exactly how much of the $7K was from each of the areas Sebelius noted in her statement. Even though 7K is a lot of money, this may turn out to be a whole lot of fuss over nothing. Based on the statement, it doesn't sound that bad,but of course that was the point...

Do you think this latest revelation will cause Sebelius to withdraw her nomination for Health and Human Services?

Obama Nominee, Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas Governor Signs Bill on Offering Ultrasounds Before Abortion

It's a good idea to require facilities providing abortions to allow women to see the ultrasound image of their fetus for the purposes of ensuring that an informed decision is being made.

On another note, the timing of the passing of this bill is interesting considering that Gov. Sebelius is nominated to lead the Health and Human Services Department.

From the article:

"The measure, which the governor signed on Friday, requires abortion providers who use ultrasound or monitor fetal heartbeats to give their patients access to the images or sound at least 30 minutes before an abortion. The amended law takes effect July 1." Source: New York Times